Method of making textured building blocks



1951 A. GIBSON ETAL 2,577,241

METHOD OF MAKING TEXTURED BUILDING BLOCKS Filed June 25. 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Wad 6 22 1% fi ff A I W 4.

' Dec. 4, 1951 A. GIBSON ETAL 2,577,241

METHOD OF MAKING TEXTURED BUILDING BLOCKS Filed June 25, 1947 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 JZwfi/Tr W64 $342 22 irizzz' zhm Patented Dec. 4, 1951 METHOD OF MAKING TEXTURED BUILDING BLOCKS Alfred Gibson and Arthur Gibson, Boston, Mass.

Application June 25, 1947, Serial No. 756,944

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of molded building'blocks such as may be made from cement or concrete. One of the objections to such blocks heretofore has resided in the repetitive patterns of the block faces, there being at most only a few distinctive face patterns which are repeated over and over again in a wall face of any substantial area. This is due to the fact that all the blocks cast from the same mold present the same face pattern, and the cost of a very large number of difierent molds would in most cases be prohibitive.

One object of the present invention, therefore, is to produce a molding face element or matrix, which determines the face pattern of a block, of a material which is capable of ready deformation so that without material alteration of its general texture, the precise pattern is easily altered. Thus it is entirely feasible to cast only one, or at most only a few blocks out of a large number, with identical face patterns, and a large number of blocks of individual and distinctive face patterns but of the same general texture may be produced without undue expense.

A further object is to provide a method by which the face pattern of the mold element or matrix may be altered or modified in such a random manner that an infinite variety of specific patterns of block faces may be produced. all having a similar texture, the texture being chosen at will.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the mechanism for producing a desired textured surface on matrix material.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the confronting roll faces and the matrix material therebetween.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the layer of matrix material marked for cutting into individual matrices.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a second pass of pieces of the matrix material to thereby modify the pattern.

Figure 5 is a sectional view through a casting box showing a piece of matrix material carried thereby and the block cast thereagainst.

Figures 6 and 7 are actual photographs of the face of a matrix, Figure 6 showing the pattern due to a single pass beneath a roll having a textured face and Figure 7 showing the same piece with its pattern modified by a second random pass beneath the same roll.

Referring to the drawings, at l is shown a support which may be the upper stretch of a traveling belt 2 which passes at one end around a roller 3. Upon this support I is positioned a layer '4 of a somewhat plastic matrix material. For example, a suitable material is a mixture of clay and parafiin containing sufficient petroleum jelly to render it permanently sufiiciently plastic for the desired purpose. This may be material such as has been described in our Patent No. 2,037,465 granted April 14, 1936. By moving the belt 2, this layer of plastic matrix material may be presented between upper and lower rolls 6 and 1. The roll 6 has a surface provided with indentations between raised portions constitutin a definite pattern of a predetermined desired texture. The complement of this pattern is impressed in the upper surface of the matrix material which is delivered from between the rolls 6 and 1 onto a second traveling support comprising a belt l0 passing over an end roller II. The width of the matrix material is preferably much wider than the width of any of the blocks which it is desired to cast, and after passing between the rolls 6 and I, it may be cut lengthwise, as along the lines of Figure 3, and at intervals crosswise, as at the lateral lines It, to form matrix blocks each of a size corresponding to an exposed face of the building block to be cast therefrom. It will be noted that each of these matrix blocks presents on its upper face a distinctive pattern of the desired texture, each pattern being the complement to that particular portion of the roll 6 which contacted it during its pass between the rolls 6 and I and the patterns of these faces are repeated at each revolution of the roll 6. 7

Each of these matrix blocks so made may be placed in a casting box such as shown in Figure 5, the matrix being indicated at 20 and a block of the desired building material, such as, for example, cement or concrete may be made by pouring into the box theblock material while in liquid or plastic condition. As illustrated, the block 2| may be a facing block for a building, though of course, if desired, it might be of sufficient thickness to form a building block of the full wall thickness. It will be evident that each of the blocks cast against the matrix 20 as thus formed by a single pass of the roll thereover will have an identical pattern with all the others. However, after the desired one or small number of blocks have been cast with this particular matrix block, this block may be given a second pressure treatment by a textured roll as the texture roll 6, this time preferably under a lighter pressure than during the first pass, and in ran dom relation to the matrix roll 6. For example,

will be to modify the pattern impressed on the.

matrix block during its first pass through the rolls, this modification being a random mod ficw tion due to random registrations of high points on the matrix block with high points on the roll 6.

It will also be understood that the random second pass of the matrix material Will produce an infinite variety of patterns even should the matrix blocks from the first pass all present the same pattern. With the use of a readily deformable material for the matrick blocks, the variations of pattern producible may be done very cheaply so that there will be no occasion for repetition of the same pattern in the final building blocks beyond what may be desired in any particular case.

Figures 6 and '7 show an actual photograph of the surface of a matrix block, Figure 6 showing the surface pattern resulting from a single pass beneath a texture roll, while Figure '7 shows the same block after the specific pattern has been modified by a second random pass under the same texture roll but under a lighter pressure. It will be apparent that it is not desired to employ such a heavy pressure on the second pass of the matrix material beneath the texture roll as to obliterate the pattern put in in the first pass and substitute therefor the pattern resulting from the imprint of the texture roll during the second pass, but only to modify the original pattern without obliterating it, this modification being a pattern different from and not complemental to the texture roll by which the pattern was pro duced. From an inspection of Figures 6 and 7 it will be evident that the texture after the second pass is substantially the same as after the first pass, except possibly a somewhat finer pattern is produced, while the pattern itself is distinctly differentfrcm that resulting from the first pass. Should the patterns of all the blocks made be desired to be of the somewhat finer texture resulting from thesecond pass, only those matrix blocks which have been subjected to two passes beneath the texture rollwill be employed for casting, but as these passes are random passes, the modifications of original pattern are also random and there will therefore be the same infinite variety of such patterns.

Further variations in final pattern may be produced by varying the pressure at which the second pass is effected, this further increasing the possibility of producing an infinite variety of pattern with the same texture and using the same textured roll. While it is usually convenient to form the textured impressing member as a roll, as thi is particularly easy to employ, it might be formed on a flat element so long as successive pressing actions are made in random relation to its pattern.

One advantage of a roll as the impressing member is that its pattern is continuous around its periphery so that random relationship between the first impression and the second, or

further impressions, is readily effected without requiring relative displacement of the impress- 7 ing member as a whole with reference to the surface member being treated. An advantage of applying the random texture pattern initially to a matrix against which the blocks are cast resides in the superior surface finish of blocks so made.

A wall built of the blocks formed as hereinbefore described comprises unit areas all of which have received their surface configurations from the same original surface-forming element, but

which nevertheless do not present a repetitive surface configuration each corresponding to that of the original surface-forming element. Instead the individual configurations of the blocks comprise composites of this original surface element configuration with random further and overlapping impressions of lesser depth of penetration by the same or similar textured element. Usually one such further impression is sufficient to produce the desired pattern variation.

An advantage of using the same impressing member or an impressing member of the same texture for the second or modifying pressure treatment as for the first impression, is that this avoids any possibility of the modification introducing any non-harmonizing elements into the final design since all are produced from the same textured impressing member.

From the foregoing description, it should be evident that further changes and modifications might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

We claim:

l. The method of making a face configuration of variable pattern which comprises im ressing in the face of deformable material a textured surface element having a definite face pattern to. thereby provide said deformable material with a face presenting a complete pattern complemental to the pattern of said element, and then impressing on said deformable material face to a less depth a textured surface element in random relation to said complemental pattern to randomly modify the pattern of said material face while maintaining thegeneral texture resulting from the first impression.

.2. The method of making a matrix for determining the face pattern of a building block,

which comprises impressing in a deformable matrix material a textured surface member having a distinctive face pattern determining the texture of the building block to be made from said matrix in a complete pattern, and then by a second impression of less depth of a, textured surface member .in random relation to said first impression randomly modifying, the impressed pattern while maintaining the same general texture.

3. The method of making textured face 00nfigurations of variable pattern, which comprises passing atextured roll across the surface of deformable material under sufficiently heavy pressure to impart a full textured pattern to said surface, and then passing a roll of the same texture across said surface under les penetration sufficient only to randomly modify the pattern resulting from the first pass while maintaining the same general texture of the pattern.

4. The method of making textured face configurations of variable patterns which comprises impressing a textured surface member on a surface. of deformable material to impart a full textured pattern to said surface, and then modifying said pattern by impressing on said surface a similar textured surface member under less penetration and with its pattern in random relation to said full textured pattern to thereby modify the pattern resulting from said first impression while maintaining the same general texture of the pattern.

ALFRED GIBSON.

ARTHUR GIBSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 6 Name Date Aaronson Feb. 10, 1914 Mitchell Aug. 16, 1921 Phillips July 4, 1922 Smith Jan. 30, 1923 Schemmel Sept. 6, 1927 Stoll et a1. Nov. 1, 1927 I-Iuppuch Feb. 12, 1929 Glidden et a1 Mar. 25, 1930 McConoughey June 10, 1930 Stone Nov. 3, 1931 Weeks Aug. 28, 1934 Spechler Sept. 25, 1934 Leguillon Feb. 5, 1935 Harshberger Nov. 3, 1936 Cotterman July 8, 1941 Carlson June 28, 1949 

